The Inbetween Homestead is a blog about the adventures of an suburban "homesteader" trying to live more simply and more self sufficient in these trying times. Follow along as I show my triumphs and disappointments, experiments and tips and tricks to getting the most from your suburban environment as frugally as possible.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Chugging Along..

It is very difficult to garden when you have doctors tell you not to do stuff. I am trying to take it easy and slow, but alas, there is a different head space when working outside, and all the rules get forgotten if you are not careful.

The asparagus beds are all in and I am seeing some of the spears start to fern. Almost all of the soil in the beds are from my own compost pile that I let go because I could not bear the idea of dealing with the tangle of weeds and the heaps of trash that local kids (including my own back in the day) contributed to the pile. We stopped added organic material to it over a decade ago, when our rabbit died and these newish (to me) weeds started taking over the entire yard. These vines take over through both incredibly long roots that can span city blocks as well as seeds from the flower.

Even with crazy weeds trying to take over, the asparagus is coming up. It was too bright out to get a good picture of the ferns with my phone.

The strawberries had a huge surprise for me after the weekend rain. Blossoms.. everywhere! I definitely should thin these out this season.

I tried to get the blossoms to show better, but I am not a photographer or a graphic designer. Trust me. Loads of flowers.

This years big experiment is.. ::drum roll::... potatoes in a laundry hamper! Hey, that is what was on sale at the dollar store. I used some newspapers to keep the soil in, but with all the large holes the drainage should be excellent. I just need to find more soil to hill them with.

I planted four Swedish fingerlings in here. They took forever to start, but now they are taller and more lush every time I take a look at them. I am trying to be realistic about this experiment, but how I would love a big batch of potatoes from the garden!

Last year I split up the ancient rhubarb plant in the back yard. Only one of these made it, the other just rotted away. So far this year I have had to cut off the flower pods twice! The seeds of this plant are in fact capable of growing, I have a small number under the lights right now. Technically we shouldn't be eating any leaves, roots or stems from my soil as it is on the high side for lead, but so far I have not been successful growing rhubarb in pots or raised beds. Maybe next year I will try that again, with the new seedlings.

It is very hard to believe that this plant is from a plant that lived at least fifty years, though likely for far longer as the house was owned by a family who had been here forever, and did not garden. It lived through the junk pile that was our backyard before it was cleaned out and sold to us. We are talking an old variety that was planted a very long time ago. Now I have bored you :)

Last but certainly not least is this image of the "greens bed". There are not a lot in there, but the growth finally picked up and that is pleasing. There will be iceberg lettuce, spinach, chard, and radishes being harvested from here this year. You may notice the clumping of vegetation. We have animals that like to dig up my beds and toss the seed about... so, piles of greens and whole sections with nothing.

I wish my family liked greens more.

There are a couple of projects going on in there that I will talk about when I get a chance. The potato basket has been discussed. If that works out I will make a few of them. I love potatoes. The other is a root watering system using single serve soda or water bottles with holes punched in them. If nothing else, it should make using the seaweed fertilizer easier.